The Washington State Legislature adopted what was known as the Urban Renewal Law in 1957. Shortly afterwards, Seattle City Council adopted ordinance declaring that "blighted areas" existed in the City of Seattle, as defined by the State law. In 1958 the Mayor announced the appointment of Talbot Wegg as Urban Renewal Coordinator for the City of Seattle. The first Citizens' Advisory Committee on Urban Renewal met in 1958. By August the group was known as the Seattle Urban Renewal Enterprise or SURE. Its goal was to promote fundraising and increase awareness in the community about housing deterioration and neglect especially where those elements affect the health, safety and well-being of the community. Focus on rehabilitation and conservation. A non-profit corporation was formed in November 1958.
SURE was structured with a Board of Trustees and an Executive Council. Presidents of the Board included Kenneth B. Colman, Walter T. Funk 1961, John L. Wright, 1962-1963, Cal M. McCune, 1963-1964, Donald S. Voorhees, 1964-1965. Lyman Black was appointed president of SURE in March 1965. Annual meetings were held in March.
Ray Baker was hired as Executive Director of SURE in June 1959. Baker was the former Director of the Jackson Street Community Council. Baker resigned in April 1962 due to financial difficulties of SURE. SURE was funded by membership fees and contributions from firms and individuals. Struggling financially, SURE staff were released later in 1962. SURE carried a debt of about $4,000. Mayor Clinton appointed City staff member David Towne of the Office of Urban Renewal as Executive Director.
Throughout its existence, SURE worked closely with the City's Office of Urban Renewal. Talbot Wegg, the first coordinator, resigned in 1963 and was followed by Director John P. Willison. SURE shared office space with the Office of Urban Renewal after it lost its staff in 1962.
SURE was successful in gathering community support, revising the housing code, and initiating federal support for urban renewal projects. SURE was involved in many projects including: the Yesler-Atlantic Urban Renewal Project; the Workable Program, the South Seattle Redevelopment Project, the Community Renewal Program and Cherry Hill. SURE contracted with the City of Seattle to provide advice and counsel to property owners and community organizations and gave a voice to urban renewal in Seattle.
The records of the Seattle Urban Renewal Enterprise (SURE) are organized into two subseries: Administrative and Committees and Projects. The Administrative Records provide good summaries of SURE activities through annual reports and minutes. The Committee and Project Files present the range of activities, primarily identified by their geographic area, in which SURE was involved.
Within the Administrative records are annual reports, Board minutes and Council minutes, providing the researcher with goals, discussions, and issues facing SURE. In addition to minutes and annual reports, the news releases and news letters provide a good overview of SURE activities. Although SURE identified projects that would be good targets for urban renewal funds, the federal applications had to be approved and written through the City. Communication with City officials regarding urban renewal work can be found in the Administrative subseries.
The Committees and Project Subseries contains records on specific projects in which SURE was involved. The Committee records include committee members, correspondence, newsletters and timelines. The Project files complement the committee records, including correspondence, maps, notices and other project materials. Work with neighborhood councils is reflected here.
Among the first SURE projects was the Yesler Atlantic Project, approved for funding by the federal government in December 1959. The City received funds for survey and planning and for a new junior high school. SURE formed the Yesler-Atlantic Citizens' Conference in 1960 and sponsored clean-up projects, published a newspaper, and provided labor assistance for home owners in need of remodeling or repairs. Within the Yesler Atlantic neighborhood, one of SURE's early projects was a "demonstration house" at 114 21st Ave. It was remodeled and used for SURE offices from 1959 to 1960, demonstrating the value of urban renewal in upgrading and improving existing homes. The largest volume of records in Committees and Projects relate to the Yesler Atlantic project. Other SURE projects reflected in the records include: Cherry Hill, Leschi, University Addition-First Hill and University Addition-Northlake.
Records are arranged in three subseries:
I: Administrative
II: Committees
III: Project Files
Records are open to the public.
[Item and date], Seattle Urban Renewal Enterprise (SURE) Records, Record Series 1642-10. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.
Related materials include other Urban Renewal record series in the Department of Community Development, including the J. P. Willison Papers (1642-01), the Frank McChesney Papers (1642-04), the Urban Renewal Subject Files (1642-02), and the Cherry Hill Project Files (1642-11).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.